Wrestling | 2/25/2016 10:38:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT wrestling team will send a strong group of eight grapplers who will compete for a berth in the NCAA Division III Championship to the NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament, hosted by Lycoming College on Saturday, Feb. 27 and Sunday, Feb. 28. Action on Saturday begins at 11 a.m., while Sunday's wrestling starts at 10 a.m.
The NCAA Mideast Regional Championships qualifying tournament is a two-day, double-elimination format. The top three finishers in each weight class will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Division III Championships March 11-12 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Eighteen different teams will compete for the team title.
Wrestlers scheduled to represent RIT include (by weight class):133: Isaiah Ocasio (Vineland, NJ/Vineland)141: Jake Sepor (Stafford, NY/Pavilion)149: Dempsey King (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford)157: Won Kim (Millbrae, CA/Mills)165: Joe Cutugno (Ventnor, NJ/Atlantic City)174: John Donohue (Smithtown, NY/Hauppauge)184: Mackenzie Callahan
285: Sam Weinger (Blooming Grove, NY/Washingtonville) Weinger leads all RIT wrestlers with a 27-8 record in 2015-16, which includes a 12-1 record in dual meets, five pins, and four major decisions. He posted a 13-match winning streak earlier in the season and was the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 15.
Jake Sepor (Stafford, NY/Pavilion) has also enjoyed plenty of success for the Tigers in 2015-16, with a 21-11 record, having won the 141 lb. weight class at the 50th annual RIT Invitational on Dec. 5. He has two wins by pin, four by technical fall, and six major decision victories. His 60 career wins lead all active wrestlers at RIT.
Kim has 10 wins during his junior season, while Cutugno, a sophomore, has chipped in with nine victories in 2015-16.
King has emerged as RIT's top newcomer, despite battling injuries to record an impressive 19-6 record with nine wins via pin in 2015-16. He is a two-time ECWC Rookie of the Week and won the title at 149 lbs. at the 50th annual RIT Invitational on Dec. 5.
Including King, five of RIT's nine participants are first-year grapplers.
John Donohue (Smithtown, NY/Hauppauge) has enjoyed a strong first season, showing flashes of brilliance to post 17 wins, including four by pin, and two technical falls. Ocasio has recorded six wins this season, while Callahan has five victories in 2015-16.
Last season,
Brad Mayville (Marion, NY/Wayne) and
Tory Cain (Ontario, NY/Wayne) both finished third in their respective weight classes to qualify for the NCAA Championship, as RIT placed ninth at the Mideast Regional Tournament, hosted by Messiah College. Both men would earn All-American honors at the 2015 NCAA Tournament, as Mayville would place third at 149 lbs., and Cain fifth, at 174 lbs.
